119 by a relatively thin layer of high permeability or a major joint. Very considerable care is needed in interpreting the test data. In cases where 2 reliable result fs required, the programme of borehole permeability tests Is generally followed by 2 full-scale pumping test (see Chapter 25). 21.5 PACKER (WATER ABSORPTION) TESTS 21.5.1 General Principles The packer or Lugeon test gives a measure of the acceptance by Insitu rock of water under pressure. The test was orlginally introduced hy Lugeon (1933) to provide an acceptable standard for testing the permeability of dam foundations. In essence, it comprises the measurement of the volume of water that can escape from an uncased section of borehole in a given time under a givén pressuré. Flow fs confined between known depths by means of packers, fence the more general name of the test. The How is confined between two packers in the double packer test, or between the packer and the bottom of the borehole in the_single packer test. The test is used to essess the amount of grout that the rock will accept, to check the effectiveness of grouting, to obtain a measure of the amount of fracturing of the rock (Snow, 1968), or to give an approximate value of the permeability of the rock mass adjacent to the borehole, The results of the test are usually expressed in terms of Lugeon units. A rock is said to have a permeability of J Lugeon if, under a head above groundwater level of 100 m, a1 m length of borehole accepts | ltre of water per minute. Lugeon did not specify the diameter of the borehole, which is usually assumed to be 76.mm_(W size), but the test is not very sensitive to change {a borehole diameter unless the length of borehole under test is small. When the packer test is carried out at shallow depths, as is frequently the case in Hong Kong, the applied water pressure must be limited to a value that will not cause hydraulic fracturing of the ground (see Section 21.5.3). This often leads to the test being conducted at pressures of 50 to 500 kPa, and extrapolation is then necessary te obtain the Lugeon value equivalent to a 100 m water head (approximately 1 MPa pressure). If the rock discontinuity spacing is sufficiently close for the test section to be representative of the rock mass, a mass permeability can be calculated as described in Section 21.5.6. A simple rule that is sometimes used to convert Lugeon values into mass permeability is to take one Lugeon as equal to a permeability of 10-7 m/s. As the packer test is used to assess the potential for water to penetrate rock discontinuities, clean water should be used as the drilling fluid when forming the borehole, rather than drilling mud. If drilling mud has been used, the hole should be thoroughly flushed out prior to packer testing; appropriate explanatory notes should also be given with the test data. In situations where only salt water is available to conduct the test, this should also be clearly indicated on the test results. 21.5.2 Packers Several types of packer are in use, such as the mechanical tail pipe, the manual mechanical-expanding packer and the hydraulic seif-expanding packer,120 but by far the most commonly used is the pneumatic packer. This comprises a rubber canvas duct tube which can be inflated against the sides of the borehole by means of pressurized ges (Figure 31). Bottled nitrogen or oxygen Is fed down the borehole through a small diameter nylon tube, The inflation pressure has to be sufficient to expand the packer against the head of water in the borehole, but not sufficient to cause heaving of the ground surface or fracturing of the rock. A useful rule of thumb is that the pressure, in kPa, should He between 12 times and 17 times the depth, in metres, of the borehole. The difference between the diameter of the uuintlated packer and the dizmeter of the borehole should be such that the packer can be easily inserted. At the same time, the inflated diameter of the backer should be sufficient to provide an efficient seal. A double packer is two packers connected by a length of pipe of the same length as the test section. The test water Is introduced between the packers. 21.5.3 Application and Measurement of Pressure Water pressure is applied by a flush pump as used for diamond bit core drilling. The maximum water pressure which should be epplied should not be sufficient to cause uplift of the ground or to break the seal of the packers In deep holes in weak rock. The standard head of 100 m above groundwater level may not be attainable in these conditions, The applied pressure should not exceed overburden pressure at the test depth, and it may be necessary to keep the pressure well below the overburden pressure, as under some circumstances vertical cracks can develop in weak rocks at pressures much lower than this value. Excessive pressure may be detectable by careful analysis of the test data, e.g. an abrupt change of slope in a graph plot of applied water pressure versus flow rate may indicate possible hydraulic fracture during the test. The pressure to be determined for use in the calculation of permeability 4s that causing flow into the rock itself. This is sometimes measured directly, but It is more usual to measure it at ground level by means of a Bourdon gauge, with the readings adjusted in accordance with the following expression : A= P+ (H- Hy) - He eee ee ee where 4 Is the pressure head causing flow into the rock (m), P ws the Bourdon gauge reading converted to head (mi, #4 ts the height of Bourdon gauge above the mid-point of test section (m), Mg is the height of natural groundwater level above the mid- Point of test section (im), He is the friction head loss in the pipes (m). The pressure gauge should be positioned so that it will give @ true reading without interference from local pressure variations Induced by How through the pipe work. The natural groundwater level should be measured before the test begins. This 1s not always easy, especially when the rocks ere of low permeability, and water has been used for flushing purposes during12i drilling. If necessary, separate observation wells should be installed, and the groundwater levels should be measured over a period to establish the general groundwater level. Friction head loss in the pipes is best established by means of a caltbration test, with the pipe work Iaid out on the ground. Calibration must be carried out for each test arrangement (pump, packer, valves and by-pass, pressure gauge and flowmeter) with various lengths of drill rods and varying flow rates. All pressure gauges and flow meters used in the test should be calibrated regularly. 21.5.4 Measurement of Flow The rate of flow of water may be measured efther by a flowmeter or by dtrect measurement of How out of a tank of known dimensions by means of a dipstick or depth gauge. Where a Howmeter is used, it should be installed upstream of the pressure gauge, well away from bends or fittings in the pipework, and ta accordance with the manufacturer's instructions. The accuracy of the meter should be checked before the test begins, and periodically afterwards, by measuring the time taken to fill 2 container of 4Anown volume at different rates of How. Where the flow out of a tank Is to be measured, the use of one large tank can lead to inaccuracies where the Plan area fs large and the fall in level correspondingly small, A better arrangement is to use a number of small containers. Flowmeters are prone to inaccuracies, especially at low flow rates, and calibrations should therefore be carefully checked on site, Industrial water meters commonly available in Hong Kong are not sufficiently accurate for use in the packer test. For very low flows, a rotameter board with a series of graduated tubes can provide an accurate measurement of flow rate, as can an orifice plate meter, 21.5.5 Execution of Test The test may be carried out either as a single or as a double packer test. The single packer test is generally to be preferred because any leakage past the packer can be detected, whereas leakage past the lower packer in the double packer test cannot. However, the single packer test normally has to be done periodically during the drilling of the hole, which makes it more costly. Aa important point is to ensure that the packer Is properly seated in the borehole. Where a complete core has been recovered from the borehole, or where appropriate logging or television inspection has been carried out, 2 careful examination may reveal suitable places to seat the packer. where the seating proves unsatisfactory, the length of the test section should be altered or test sections overlapped, so as to seat the packer ata different depth in the borehole. While the number of packer tests carried out in a borehole depends on the requirements of the project, it is usual to test the whole length of the borehole that is in rock. However, the upper limit of testing may be constrained by the highest level at which a packer can be sealed satisfactorily. Typically, overlapping tests are used, each having a test section length of 3 to 6m. In any case, the test section length should not be less than ten borehole diameters so as to minimise end effects. It is customary to run a staged test at each location, using different122 pressures. A five-stage test is desirable, with the maximum pressure applied in three equal increments and then reduced with decrements of the same amount (Figure 32). The data obtained from these measurements are particularly useful in assisting in the interpretation of the behaviour of the rock under test. The water level in the borehole above the packer should be observed during each test, as a rising level may indicate that leakage is occurring around the upper packer. 21.5.6 Results and Interpretation The varying values of pressure and flow recorded during the test may be plotted as shown in Figure 33. The interpreted Lugeon value, L, is given by the formula : L = (100/1}q/h) soe ee eee BY where 100 is the standard head of water (m), 1 is the length of test section (m), q is the flow rate (litres/minute), h is the pressure head causing flow into the rock (m) (see Section 21.5.3), q/his the slope of graph as shown in Figure 33. Where a test has been conducted at pressure heads considerably less than the standard 100 m head, the Lugeon value may be somewhat over- estimated by the above formula, due to possible differences in energy loss between laminar flow (at low head) and turbulent flow (at high head), Further considerations on test interpretation are given by Houlsby (1976). @1.6 PLATE TESTS 21.6.1 General The plate test is one particular application of the vertical loading test, and the general procedures for the test are described fa Section 29.1, Only the specific problems which arise from carrying out the test in the bottom of @ borehole are discussed tn this Section. Wherever practicable, the test should 8 conducted fn a borehole which Is of sufficient diameter for a technician to enter, clean out the bottom, end bed the plate evenly on undisturbed ground. Careful attention should be directed towards safety for operators working below ground (see Section 18.2 and Appendix E). Where, for reasons of economy, the test is conducted in a snail diameter borehole, the cleaning of the bottom and the bedding of the piate has to be done from the surface, so that it is very difficult to be certain that the plate is not resting on disturbed material, This would, of course, limit the value of the results. The techniques used for tests in large and small diameter boreholes differ in some respects and, where differences occur, the methods ere described separately in Chapter 29. The diameter of the plate used should, so281 4se4 (UoNdsosqy 112M) Jayoed Jo) uaWaBuesay [eoldAL - 1¢ ainB1g yuewabuoy ysa, seysDy aBurs {0} Jax20g aqnoqg jo yuawabunwy (q) ae a}oyssog Jo Wo}}08 woHses 35a, 4ayo0d wWojo8 uoytsod Busey us sax20d jownaud ajbuys payniyy! sJayzod wojjog pup i NUS. PEIDIIE do} Suysauuos aul ajoyaiog pasn2un: 2 a g a a 2 & > pos payouojiad josuog ave <2 se a3 58 Ba 2 88 28 ss a [asyueo aunsseid Bulyo|ju 4saxo0d dol. HUY! @A]DA JOs]UOD Aiddns ssod-Aq. J8]0M passasdwog es a6nb abun Ss Brid BUN aunssasd anyon ssod-Aq aiqo> a "282 Field Data from Water Absorption Test Borehole ‘No. 13 Test No. Date of test 24.11.78 Tested by AN. Chan Packer type { delete as necessary }| Tested Section from 19.81 m to 22.86 m a Double F Depth of Hole at Time of Test 33.84 m Hydrautic + Mechanical Pneumatic Details of Casing at Time of Test - Packer pressure __276«Pa____ | Gauge Height above Ground Level _ 132m Depth to Centre of Test Section (measured down line of borehole) __21,3¢m Depth to Groundwater Level {measured down line of borehole } 21.34m FIRST PERIOD Gouge pressure 124 kPa Time (minutes) Average Flow reading [ (lfmin} Flowmeter Bipsticl Water take SECOND PERIOD Time Average Flow Flowmeter ee nie readin . . 5 Clmin} Dipstic 9 Water take THIRD PERIOD Time Average Flow reading { co (min) Flowmeter —|—. Water take E y aay FOURTH PERIOD Gauge press {minutes]} 0 Average Flow reading ( 1 J} Sas z (irmin} Flowmeter Bipstick Water take 18.4 FIFTH PERIOD Gauge pressure ( minutes] 0 Average Flow tecding { 1} : {Umia) Flowmeter Dipsti Water take bi le 2.28 Figure 32 - Example of Packer (Water Absorption) Test Data283 Water Absorption Test Borehole No. Date of Test _ 24.11.75 Packer Type (delete as necessary) Single/ Double Pneumatic /Hydravlie+Mechenicat Packer Pressure 276 kPe Gauge Pressure is Test No. to __22.86m 33.94 m 192 m go” Test Section from 19.81 m Depth of Hole at Time of Test Diameter of Hole in Test Area Drillhole Inclination from Horizontal Casing Details - Rock Type GRANITE GRADE It Friction Headloss | Total Head Legend of Test Section 3.05m q {litres /min) Units: {kPa} in Extra Rods or Pipes {m) in Basic Pipe Work (m} Head of Water {m) {2+3+6-7-8) (en) (5) 128 (1) Vertical Cepth to. ground- water from G.L, 2L24m Height of Pressure Gauge above GL.32m_ (3) (4) 2.16 28 372 2.96 (2) 47 3.10 268 2.28 124 (9) 35.26 47.86 60.46 (7) | (8) 47.86 38.26 q (litres /minute} qin = 100 th 7 where | = length of test From graph FRYETS 2 2.08 Note of test section 30 40 h (metres) Calculated by Tested by lugeon units A.N. Chan ALN. Chan section in metres If groundwater tevel unknown or below test section use depth to centre Figure 33 - Example of Packer (Water Absorption) Test Calculations